(RNS) — On Ash Wednesday this year, about a dozen people attended a noon service at Boston’s Old North Church, founded in 1723. Two days later, a handful of worshippers took part in a Shabbat service at Newport, Rhode Island’s Touro Synagogue, dedicated in 1763.  Congregations participating in sacred rituals — it is something both houses of worship have been doing longer than the United States has existed. Such places of worship are rare. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research estimates that of the 370,000 religious congregations in the U.S. today, only about 1% existed at the country’s founding. When the country declared independence in 1776,  there were 3,228 houses of worship across the Colonies. The U.S. was already religiously diverse. Congregationalists led the pack with about 670 congregations, or just over 20% of the total. Presbyterians   weren’t   far behind (18%), followed by Baptists and Episcopalians (each about 15%), and Quakers at   nearly 10% .…